TY - JOUR AU - van tonder, Riaan AU - Kunorozva, Lovemore AU - Viviers, Pierre AU - Derman, Wayne AU - Brown, James PY - 2021/06/14 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Presenting features of female collegiate sports-related concussion in South Africa: a descriptive analysis JF - South African Journal of Sports Medicine JA - SA J Sports Med VL - 33 IS - 1 SE - Articles DO - 10.17159/2078-516X/2021/v33i1a10416 UR - https://journals.assaf.org.za/index.php/sajsm/article/view/10416 SP - 1-7 AB - <div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><strong>Background</strong>: Sports-related concussion (SRC) is an injury with important implications, especially in collision and contact sports, and has a high symptom burden. Student athletes face particular psychosocial challenges, especially female students with pre-existing anxiety/depression are at increased risk for SRC, and have a higher symptom burden before and after injury.</p><p><strong>Objectives</strong>: Describing female SRC presenting features at a collegiate campus-based sports medicine service; examining the association of prior concussion history (PCONC) and pre- existing anxiety/depression (PMHDx) with SRC.</p><p><strong>Methods</strong>: A retrospective cohort and statistical analysis (including corrected effect sizes) of Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (versions 3/5) data (Step 1: PCONC and PMHDx history; Step 2: symptom evaluation) of collegiate female athletes with SRC between 2012 and 2018.</p><p><strong>Results</strong>: Forty females with SRC were identified (age 23 ± 3). The five most frequent symptoms were headache (n = 34; 85%), feeling slowed down (n = 33; 83%), pressure in head (n = 33; 83%), don't feel right (n = 32; 80%) and fatigue/low-energy (n = 32; 80%). These five symptoms also had the highest self-rated severity (median (IQR): headache (3 (2-4)), feeling slowed down (3 (1-4)), fatigue/low-energy (3 (1-5)), don't feel right (3 (1-4)) and pressure in head (3 (2-4)). PMHDx (n = 8; 62.9 vs 38.6; p = 0.0192; Hedges' gs = 0.95; large ES), and not PCONC (n = 13; 51.0 vs 39.8; p = 0.2183; Hedges' gs = 0.48; small ES) was associated with increased mean total symptom severity.</p><p><strong>Conclusion</strong>: Headache, feeling slowed down, pressure in head, don't feel right and fatigue/low-energy had the highest symptom burden. Total symptom severity was no different in those with and without PCONC, but significantly higher in those with PMHDx.</p></div></div></div></div> ER -